On This Day, March 24, 1986: Van Halen releases ‘5150’, their first album with Sammy Hagar

On This Day, March 24, 1986 …

Forty years ago, Van Halen released their seventh studio album, 5150, which was their first record with new lead singer Sammy Hagar, following the departure of original frontman David Lee Roth.

5150 is named after guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s home studio and is also a reference to the California law that allows a mentally disturbed person to be placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold. It went on to become the band’s first #1 album and contained three pop hits: “Dreams,” “Why Can’t This Be Love” and “Love Walks In.”

5150 went on to be certified six-times Platinum by the RIAA.

On Friday, Van Halen will release a special 40th anniversary expanded edition of 5150, featuring a remastered version of the album as well as bonus 7-inch single edits and extended 12-inch tracks.

There’s also a CD featuring unreleased live recordings from Van Halen’s Aug. 27, 1986, concert at New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut, and a Blu-ray with the band’s 1986 concert video Live Without a Net, recorded during the same New Haven show, upgraded to HD for the first time.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.